FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - New Business class service - from July 2018 - Experiences and Discussion
Old Oct 21, 2018, 10:44 pm
  #171  
QRC3288
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,704
Non-working ISMs definitely a problem

Originally Posted by Unionruler
Lastly, from my limited experience with CX, CX ISMs don't help with the service as much as QR CSDs do.
Originally Posted by jckl
This is the biggest difference. On QR, the CSD is a cabin position, with service responsibility. On CX however, the ISM is merely a supervisory role and helping out is their own discretion. Many CX ISMs haven't served passengers in a long time and are out of touch with service drills.
Totally agree. The fact there is a crew on board who essentially does nothing except give cabin greetings is...not productive. Some ISMs are excellent and help out. But I'd say "more than 50%" don't, and anyway they're not part of the service flow, and when you have a full flight and/or needy passengers, you really feel that missing person. I'd say on at least 25%, and often 33%+ of flights on CX in J and F, I feel like service is painfully slow. Making the ISM part of the service would go a long way to improving this (unless, of course CX then cut another crew on the plane in the same move...lol something I could easily see them doing)

CX F would be truly enhanced if CX forced the ISMs to work the cabin. Similarly, on 3 class non-F birds (or regional flights) service could also be improved in J class if the ISMs were baked into the service flow. But unfortunately, they're not. When we have something like this new J class service, it just gets worse. I'm not sure anything could be done for J class on the 4 class bird where the ISM would be helping in F presumably, but CX has far more 3-class (no F) longhaul birds and the ISM could really make a difference on those.

For those of you who regularly fly F, I'm sure you notice the issues on a 6/6 full flight. Not always, but "regularly enough" whereby service takes a painfully long time, usually right after takeoff or right before landing on the nighttime longhauls North America -> HKG or HKG-> Europe. I often find the ISM isn't helping the SP+FA in these situations. Such a dumb missed opportunity. I'm not sure where the problem is, if it's just CX being muddle headed or a union issue. But it's clearly a problem. (The potential for problems decrease exponentially with just one or two fewer passengers. I find myself thrilled when it's 5/6 in F, and obviously even better if less than that. 6/6 is at the limit - especially mid-flight with one of the crew asleep - and if you have a "so so" or bad crew and some unlucky timing, service timing can be very poor).

It's my understanding there are some serious changes underway to how FAs are rostered on board. Some flights going forward won't have an ISM. But given what I know of CX, I'm doubtful this will lead to improvements for us.

On QR, as mentioned the CSD actually is part of the service flow. Cx's ISMs aren't. It's such a missed opportunity in my book.

Last edited by QRC3288; Oct 21, 2018 at 10:49 pm
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